


The Dinner

by kazoobard



Series: The Brad x Rory Mythic Quest Universe [5]
Category: Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M, comments uwu? i thrive on attention, this was fun to write, uhh i uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27739081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazoobard/pseuds/kazoobard
Summary: Rachel and Brad become closer.
Relationships: Brad Bakshi/Rory Bakshi (OC), Rachel/Dana
Series: The Brad x Rory Mythic Quest Universe [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964773
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	The Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> this was really fun to write! rory’s faceclaim is donald glover

Rachel is tired of being in Brad’s debt.

He’s yet to have her actually do anything, but once a week he calls her into his office and just… stares at her. Like some kind of lanky bird of prey.

She’s sitting in a chair across from him now, feeling small and scrutinized. She’s resisting the urge to rock back and forth in her seat, though she doubts he’d say anything. He’s always tapping or picking at his fingers. She glances to her right.

“David?”

“Leave me out of this,” he says, not looking up from his laptop. Rachel looks back over to Brad, and his eyes narrow.

It’s been ten minutes, at least. Brad’s patience is undying, and Rachel only gets to leave when he gets bored of her. So she’s going to be here a while.

Eventually, David stands and leaves. Rachel tries to catch his eye, pleading, but he’s pointedly avoiding eye contact with either of them.

Rachel glances down at Brad’s hands. He’s twisting his wedding band up and down his finger.

“How’s Rory?”

“Fine.” He shoots her a sharp look. “How’s Dana?”

“You saw Dana this morning.” Rachel leans forward, suddenly curious. “Hey, if I’m so annoying, why do you make me sit here with you?”

Brad huffs.

“…Do you have any other gay friends, Brad?”

“What? Shut up.” Brad scowls, and Rachel bursts out laughing. “Listen, girl-kisser, I don’t need this. You can leave whenever you want.”

“Okay,” Rachel says, still grinning.

“God, you are annoying.”

“Listen,” she giggles, “This is a good thing! Dana was right, you’re starting to grow on me.”

For the first time, Brad turns toward his computer, scowling. “If you want a gay friend, talk to David. He’s about a week out from coming out as bisexual.” He glances up. “Or Ian. Yeah, go bother Ian.”

“I don’t wanna talk to Ian, I wanna talk to you.”

“But I hate you.”

Rachel raises her eyebrows. “That’s okay, dude. I like you.”

Brad is starting to get irritated, and Rachel decides to push him further. If he was really pissed, he’d have kicked her out by now. There’s a part of him that enjoys this.

“I like that you’re married. It’s cute.”

Brad glances toward her again. “Leave me alone, Sappho.”

Rachel laughs again, too loud. “Alright, fruit!”

Brad gapes at her. She freezes, afraid she’s gone too far, but there’s a tug at the edge of his lips that reveals his amusement. Rachel sighs. She’s in the clear.

———

Rachel is not in the clear.

She’s sitting on the couch in Carol’s office, Brad next to her, long legs folded over each other. Carol looks tired, and Brad looks amused.

“…So I thought you two could talk this out together, with me as a mediator. Sound good?”

Rachel nods a little. Carol sighs. “Good. Brad, why don’t you tell me why you wanted to talk about this?”

Brad’s wounded voice is painfully fake. “I just used to feel like I was so supported here, and so hearing that kind of thing come from a coworker that I thought was on my side really hurt.”

Rachel glares at Brad. He’s not looking at her, but she hopes he can feel her anger. Carol nods. “Rachel, do you understand why your comment hurt Brad?”

“Yes,” she says through gritted teeth.

Brad sniffs. “And, you know, I go home to my husband, and he talks about how wonderful everyone at Cold Alliance is and it makes me feel…” He looks down, flutters his eyelashes. “Alone.”

Rachel wants to fucking kill him.

The conversation goes on for a while longer, and Carol assigns Rachel a seminar on microaggressions. She and Brad are forced to shake hands, and when Carol says she can leave, she does. Fast.

Blood rushes in her ears as she storms out, tears itching at her eyes. She’s trying to get back to the testing room, hoping to god Lou isn’t there to boss her around so that she can cry in peace. She doesn’t get far before she feels a hand on her shoulder. She whirls around, met face-to-chest with Brad.

“Leave me alone.” Rachel cringes at how upset she sounds.

Brad takes a step back, confused. “What’s wrong with you?”

Rachel scoffs, and Brad glances around, confused. Rachel groans, rubbing her palms into her eyes. “What the hell, man? You didn’t need to bring Carol into this.”

“Why not?”

“Because you weren’t upset! Why the fuck would you do that?”

Brad blinks. “That was fun. We were bonding. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night?”

“I— what?”

“I told Rory about the fun we were having, he wanted to meet you and Dana.”

“You think staring at me for an hour once a week and forcing me to go to a seminar is fun?”

“…Yes?”

Rachel gapes at him.

“Bring wine. Rory likes red.”

———

Dana picks at the label on the wine and bounces on the balls of her feet. “Are you sure this is expensive enough? This is a really nice house.”

Rachel shrugs. “It’ll be good enough.”

“Why are we being invited again?”

“Oh,” Rachel says, trying not to stare, “I actually don’t know.”

The door flies open, and they both jump. A man with an expensive-looking button-down shirt stands in the doorway, a smirk fixed on his face. “Which of you is which?”

Rachel blinks, stunned. “Rachel.”

“Dana,” Dana squeaks.

“Come in,” the man— Rory— says smoothly.

They step inside nervously, taking in the grandeur of the house. “Holy shit,” Dana mumbles. Rachel nods.

Rory plucks the wine bottle from Dana’s hand and waves them into the dining room. They have a dining room. Dana makes a “what the fuck is going on?” face at Rachel.

Brad is setting down forks at the table, but looks up when they enter. Rachel takes in the spread— chicken breast and mashed potatoes and vegetables cooked to perfection. They pulled out all the stops. It makes absolutely no sense.

“Feel free to sit down,” Brad says, not bothering to greet them. “Everything’s ready.”

Rachel and Dana do so, sitting next to each other. Brad sits across from Dana, and she shrinks a little in her seat.

Rory catches it and smirks. “I’m going to open this,” he says, waving the bottle. He kisses the top of Brad’s head as he passes by.

“You have a really nice house,” Dana says, smiling at Brad.

“Thank you,” Brad says, in a way that says “I know.”

Rory returns a moment later with the open bottle, and promptly pours a glass for everyone. He sits next to Brad and laces their fingers together, and Rachel swears she can see Brad smiling a little bit.

Rory gestures toward the food. “Please, help yourselves.”

Dana wastes no time in filling her plate, Rachel meekly following. Both Brad and Rory watch them with interest, quiet until everyone has gotten their food.

Once everyone has started eating, Rory relaxes a little. He glances between them. “So you two are testers for Mythic Quest?”

Dana nods, obviously nervous. She’s smiling wide, though, too, like she’s really excited to be in this… super weird situation. Her braids are pinned back on one side, and it frames her face really well. Her laugh sounds like a bell, like a fairy’s laugh would sound. She’s really beautiful.

“What about you, Rache?”

Rachel startles. “Huh?”

Dana laughs a little. “I was just telling Rory how cool it is working for MQ and how much I like it. How about you?”

“Oh,” Rachel says, struggling for something to say. “Uh, it’s really cool. Super weird, though. I think David’s assistant is trying to kill me.”

Rory laughs, a loud sound that makes Brad’s cheeks flush. “I’ve heard a lot about Jo. Kid’s going places.”

The dinner continues to be weird, but weirdly, Rachel starts to like it. Dana tells stories that seem much funnier from her mouth than they did at the time, and Rory is weirdly nice, and his presence softens Brad almost impossibly so.

The drinks go fast, and Rory manages to browbeat Brad into breaking open one of their much more expensive bottles. Rachel accepts it gratefully, enjoying the pleasant buzz making everything seem more normal.

Eventually, there’s a lull in conversation. Rory tilts his head, dark eyes fixed on the women across from him. “So how long have you two been dating?”

Rachel freezes. Dana laughs a little, putting a hand on her arm. “Oh, we’re— we’re not together. We’re just really good friends.”

“Yeah,” Rachel mumbles, face burning. Rory tilts his head, studying her. Brad is smirking into his glass.

Rachel doesn’t process the rest of the dinner. She answers Rory’s questions politely and smiles at the appropriate moments, but she feels like she’s drowning.

Finally, mercifully, it ends. Brad and Rory walk them to the door, holding hands, and Rachel supposes it would have been sweet were she not dying. They say goodbye, close the door, and Rachel is left alone on the porch. With Dana.

Dana grins a little, bouncing again. “That was weird. But kinda fun.”

Rachel nods. “I’m sorry about that thing Rory said about us being together, I can tell it made you uncomfortable.”

“What? No, it’s… it’s okay.”

Rachel glances at Dana to see she looks almost… nervous. “Dana?”

Dana is staring pointedly at the ground. Rachel cautiously steps forward, and Dana’s breath audibly catches. Rachel tries again. “Dana…”

She glances up, eyes wide. She looks beautiful. Rachel reaches up, slowly, placing her hand on Dana’s cheek. “…Is this okay?”

Dana nods, slowly. She’s rising a little on her toes. She’s getting closer. She’s so beautiful.

Her lips are soft.

Her hands are so warm.

Rachel sighs into the kiss, and Dana tilts her head to move closer. It’s awkward and sloppy, slow and settling. Their teeth clink together a little, and Dana huffs a laugh into Rachel’s mouth.

Eventually they break apart, resting their foreheads together. Rachel is grinning, and she can hear little giggles from Dana.

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Rachel agrees. She feels a little lightheaded, slowly coming back to herself. “Holy shit, we just kissed on Brad’s porch.”

“Oh god, we totally did.”

“Do you wanna get out of here?”

“Yes! Yes, please, let’s leave, this is fucking weird.”

———

“You did that on purpose.”

Brad glances up from his computer. “I don’t know what you mean. And our meeting isn’t until Wednesday, so… leave.”

Rachel ignores him, taking her usual seat. “You told Rory that Dana and I were together on purpose to embarrass us. That’s why you invited us over.”

“Why would I want to embarrass you?” Brad asks, sounding almost wounded. Rachel rolls her eyes, and he grins, despite himself. “Actually, wrong on both counts.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rory was in on it. I don’t tell him anything that isn’t true.”

“Unless—“

“Yes, unless it’s for manipulation and sexual satisfaction but we have already both agreed to that.”

Rachel wrinkles her nose. “Okay. Gross.” She pauses for a moment, then: “Wait. What do you mean, ‘On both counts’?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you—“ Rachel pauses. “You didn’t do that to embarrass us. You wanted to get us together.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you like me.”

“Fuck you.”

Rachel laughs. “Aw, you do like me!”

“Shut up. It was Rory’s idea.”

“You know, you’re actually a nice person, Brad.”

“Listen to me. I hate you.”

Rachel grins. “That’s okay. Because your husband likes me—“

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

“—and you are embarrassingly whipped!”

Brad sighs, leaning back in his chair. “God, you’re irritating.”

Rachel grins. “I like you, too.”

Brad lets her sit with him for another hour.


End file.
